Fence post



Fel 5, 1940- w. B. CALDWELL E1- AL 2,189,542

FENCE PosT Filed May 18, 1957 Patented Feb. 6, 1940 5 2,189,542", -FENCE Postrv i WalkerBrilce Caldwell, Flossmoor, and Edward F.` Peters, ChicagoHeights, 111.," assigno'rs to Borg-Warner Corpcrati poration f of y Illinois on, Chicago, "Ill.,"a co1"-l Application May 18, 1937Serial`No. 143,348

` 3 claims. (crise-29) l v and anchor plate showing the method of attach- This invention relates to fence posts, and particularly tor fence posts made of metal.r

Metal fence posts 4l; have been at a disadvantage when compared with a woodenfence post, in respect to the number of points at which wire can be secured'thereto,` and inrthe manner in which the attachment of the wire to the post is accomplished. Metal posts have also been at a disadvantage fin thatthe necessary strength for the usegto which the post -is to be put can be obtained from a yvery thin and narrow stripof steel, b-utthat such steel` has insuicient 'area incontact with the ground for gripping purposes, and hence canbe more easily displaced. It has been proposed to obviate th-esediiiculties by forming theposts Of-steel having a complex cross section to `give the `post rigidity, kforming y bosses on the front face-of the section toprovide a means for securing wire thereto, and adding an anchor plate jto the bottomyportion toincrease vthe gripping propertiesof the portion buried in the ground. -It has also been proposed to provide apertures in the steel for securingthe wire and anchor plate-thereto.. Such apertures, however, tendto weaken the 'steel if closely spaced, and are for this reasonundesirable. ,In the type wherein studs are used forA supporting and spacing wire, the anchor plate is generally provided with apertures for the studs, 4so that itcanibe mounted flushwith thelsteel post. It hasv been .found desirable, however, to space the `studs very closely together to give a greater, choice of wire spacing along'the post. This means,l therefore, that the apertures in the-'anchor plate `must be so numerous and so closely spaced as to weaken the plate seriously. j 'I y `It isthe ob-ject ,of this invention .to provide a metal fence post which is strong and whichl oiers a ygreat selection ,inA wiring' Spacings.

Another objectisfto provideja metal fence post in which a minimum of apertures is used for securing wire and an anchor plate thereto. .v

Another object isto provide an' improved design of fence post and anchor plate therefor in which the plate is mechanically lockedon the post.

These and other objects of the. invention will v become apparent from the following detailed description when taken together with the accompanying drawing which forms a part of the description, and in which:

Fig. l is an elevation of a fence post made in accordance with this invention and embodying the novel anchor plate construction;

Fig. 2 is ay section through the fence post In -its preferred ing the plate to the post;

,Fig. Sis an enlarged yperspectivi-i plate;I and of the anchor ofl thefence post. l.

y Like reference characters' are used to designate like parts throughout the several views of thedrawing. y

form, this invention comprises forming a fence post from rolled steelhaving a somewhat U-shapedcross section and havingan exposed flat surface on,- for example, the back Yface of `the bottom of the U. Two rows of bosses inthe formofstuds are rolled `on the atface, the bosses being relatively closely spaced.

The rows arercoerxtensive with -the flat face of the post. Near one end of the post is secured an anchor plate whichy is providedl with Va longitudinal boss in theform vof a bead. The-.bead vis turned toward thelpost so, as to be included'between. the rowsof studs.,v The dimensions Kof the bead are such-that the plate is substantially' locked against lateral motion by the studs..l The platedis Welded or riveted toI the-post atv the bead.

Referring now to the drawing for a detailed k,description of the invention, I 0 `is a length of roll'edsteel having a channel ore-U-shaped cross-f section as shown in Fig. 2. Surface II of the bottom portion I2 of the `U is made the-front face ofthe post, and the corners-I3 of the bottom portion: are beveled off to facilitate the insertion of rthe post'into the ground. i j

Front face I I is provided with two or more rows I4 and I5 of bosses I6; .Said bosse'smay be of anyI desired length, but in theform shown aremade short-so that theyconstitute studsgflflhe distance betweenfstuds can be made very-small, in a typical case the;v studs-{being'- spaced three quarters of an inch apart from center to `center.'A

The studs are formed during the rollingv of the section by rollingl parallel ridges in the front facev of the section and then causing a hob of the proper contour to roll over the ridges and de-v press predetermined portions to form the studs. The dimensions of the studs in each row are preferablyr made identical, and the studs are substantially aligned when viewed from the side.y

Each stud is made with rounded ends I'I and I8, respectively, to eliminate sharp cornersv which might cause a severance of the wire mounted it upon `aligned-studs I6a and I6b and then wrapping a clip 20 around wire I9 and post I 0. As many wires may be mounted on post Il) as is desired and the spacing between wires may be selected to give the best protection for the enclosure formed by the completed fence. The spacing, for example, may be very close near the ground and may increase toward the top of the post.

Near the bottom of post I0 is an anchor plate 2| which is shown to better advantage in Fig. 3. It may be formed readily from parallel-sided stock, using a single die to form the ends. Points 22 and 23 accordingly, may be formed by cutting shoulders 21|'l and 25 in the succeeding piece. The shaped ends of anchor 2| are, therefore, identical and no material is wasted in the formation of the plate.

Anchor plate 2| is provided with a central boss 26 which may or may not be coextensive with the anchor plate. If the boss is formed by rolling, it can be most readily formed as a continuous bead. If, on the other hand, it is formed in a press, it may be discontinuous and in the form of two or more extrusions (not shown). The height of bead 26 is preferably made equal to the height of studs IB above front face II. Similarly, the width of bead 2B is preferably made -equal to the distance between the tops of the rows of studs I4 and I5. When so dimensioned, the top 21 of bead 26 rests on front face II (Fig. 2), and the tops of rows I4 and I5 rest against the ilat surfaces of plate 27| adjacent bead 26. This construction locks anchor plate 2| against lateral motion on the post as securely as though it were threaded over the "studs, and yet no apertures are required in the plate for this purpose. Despite the closely spaced studs, therefore, anchor plate 2| can be made stronger than heretofore.

Anchor plate 2| may be secured to post I0 in any one of a number of ways. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the plate is secured to post IU by means of rivets 28 which pass through the bead on the plate and through the bottom I2 of the U-shaped section. It is also possible, since bead 26 and surface Il are in contact, to spot-weld plate 2| to the post. Neither of these methods, however, requires that large and numerous apertures be formed in either the post or plate and hence the strength of these members is not materially lessened by the fastening means.

It is readily seen from the foregoing description that the post has all of the desirable features of a wooden post combined with the strength, neatness and durability of a metal post. 'Ihe closley spaced studs provide a great range of wire spacings, an exceedingly simple fastening means may be used for holding the wire against the post, and the anchor plate'may be mechanically locked on the post without the use of a great many apertures in the plate.

It is understood that the invention is not limited to the particular U-shaped post illustrated, nor to the particular shape and spacing of studs shown. The plate may likewise have a crosssection and a shape other than those shown. The foregoing description is therefore merely illustrative of a preferred embodiment of the invention, and the invention should not be limited thereto but should be determined by the appended claims.

' We claim:

1. A fence post comprising a rolled steel section having spaced parallel rows of bosses, an anchor plate comprising flat wing portions and a straight embossed bead connecting said wing portions, said bead being received between said rows of bosses and a locking element extending through said bead, thence between said rows of bosses and thence through the post, said element securing said anchor plate to the post with the faces of said wings adjacent the outer side regions of said bead in engagement with the tips of 'said bosses, and said locking element having a head portion engaging said wings opposite the said tips of the bosses, said head and bosses cooperating to clamp said wing portions between them.

2. A fence post comprising a rolled steel section having spaced rows of substantially uniform bosses extending outwardly Ifrom one face portion thereof, an anchor plate for the fence post having a boss of a height substantially equal to the height of the bosses on the rolled section, and means for securing the anchor plate to the rolled section with the boss of the plate between the 151 rows of bosses on the rolled section and in contact with said face of said section, the face of said anchor plate on each side of said anchor boss being in contact with at least some of the -post bosses of each row whereby to lock said plate to the section mechanically and provide a threepoint support for the plate in a plane normal to the planeof the plate.

3. A fence post comprising a rolled steel section 'having spaced parallel rows of bosses extending from one face thereof, an'anchor plate comprising wing portions joined by a straight embossed bead portion, said bead being received between said rows of bosses and a locking element extending through said bead, thence between said rows of bosses and thence through said post, said element being effective to secure said anchor plate to said post with the faces of said wing portions of said anchor plate in contact with at least some of the studs of each of said rows of parallel studs and with said bead portion in firm contact with said post between said parallel rows of studs.

WALKER BRUCE CALDWELL. EDWARD F. PETERS. 

